Pokeshipping Week 2018
by Percyfan1998
Summary: It's that time of year again! Pokeshipping Week 2018 from me this year might be a bit late, as due to several reasons I haven't all of my entries so I hope you'll forgive me. Rated T for language.
1. Misty in Kalos

_**Pledged**_

Misty yawned long and loud as she stepped off of the seaplane's ramp and placed her feet onto the dock. "Ugh," she claimed, "finally solid ground after so long!"

"Oh, won't you – like – stop your yammering?" groaned Lily as she stepped up next her younger sister. "Such a bad first step, and it's only the first day of your vacation. Like, cool your jets."

"I'll cool my jets," replied Misty, as an eye of hers twitched, "once my mind can stop the repeating traumatic sounds of your snoring! Isn't that right, Azurill?" she asked towards her 'baby', who could only coo sleepily in agreement.

"I do not snore!" cried Lily, defensively. Misty just rolled her eyes as she angrily tightened the grip on her bag – she clenched her eyes and began to walk away. But after only a few steps she opened up her eyes and noticed the state the town was in.

"Whoa," breathed Misty, awed not having expected the place to look so festive. Lights hung from canopies, and Pokéball symbols were all over, from trees and bushes to all sorts of places. "What's going on here?"

"Ah, you must be new," a young man commented. "It's the Coumarine Festival today." Misty blinked, so the man continued. "It's a day when all of the residents and visitors of Coumarine go to the Pledging Tree – it's the site of our local gym – and give gifts to their Pokémon as tokens of appreciation. It's all done as homage to a story about how the man who planted the tree used it as a gift to his Gogoat."

"Oh! I see," replied Misty, interested. "Um…where would the gym be to drop off the gifts?"

"Oh, just over there," the man said, pointing towards where a very large tree was. "And if you need to go shopping, you can take the monorail to the town's biggest shopping district. Should be a very nice place for you two ladies to go to," he added.

"Wait! Hold on, shopping?!" said Lily suddenly, as she practically bolted from where she had been to the front of the young man, startling him. "As in – like – _shopping_ , shopping? As in, big name clothes, perfumes, shoes, and snacks, like, that kind of shopping district?!"

"Um – er – w-well, yes…"

"Eek! Misty, c'mon! To that monorail, _now_! Shopping here I come!"

Misty squeaked in surprise as she was grabbed by the wrist and yanked by her sister away from the man who sweat-dropped as he watched the sisters leave. "Oh!" he called. "And don't forget about the festival!"

"We won't!" called Misty, despite the panic in her voice as she was flailed around by her sister.

When the two Waterflowers got to the station, they quickly boarded the train, Lily bubbling over with happiness, whilst Misty pondered over what to get her Pokémon. During that time, wearing a blue short-sleeved jacket, with spikey black hair that was covered by a red cap arrived at the station – he was accompanied by a honey hair colored girl with a black/grey tank top, red skirt with knee high black stockings, and a pink hat.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Misty had never seen Lily so amped up before, the pinkette bolted out of the monorail so fast, she swore her sister had been moving at the speed of sound. When they went about their shopping, Misty couldn't help but admit that some of the items she saw did interest her on a surface level, but nothing stood out to her in regards to her Pokémon. But Lily fawned over everything.

"Honestly," grumbled Misty to herself, "she's impossible to deal with some days." Luckily, Misty did happen to see a few items that caught her attention. She managed to find a nice blue sailor robe for Politoed, and she figured that Psyduck and Azurill wouldn't mind a snow globe each – but the rest of her team were enigmas to her.

"Ooh-ooh!" cried Lily suddenly. "O-M-G, those stilettos look fabulous, so beautiful! Agh, I want to try them on!" Misty gaped in wonderment as her sister disappeared, she sighed, for as nice as it was for her to spend time with Lily, the girl could be too much.

"Hey, Lily," said Misty as she peered into the shop. She noticed that Lily was at the nearest seat, busying herself with fitting on the high heels, but clearly that pair wasn't the only one she was keen to try on…as a stack of some twenty other boxes were stacked next to her.

"Huh? Yes Misty?" said Lily, finally looking up nonchalantly.

"Erm," began Misty awkwardly, her face scrunch up from how perturbed she was at the scene before her, before suddenly adopting a more nervous smile. "Well…it seems that you'll be here for a while, whilst you're doing that, I'm going to go explore the area some more and meet up with you later after I find some more gifts for my Pokémon, okay?"

"Oh, okay," replied Lily simply. "Have fun," she added, but in a tone that suggested that she couldn't care one way or another. Misty gave a very small 'humph' of annoyance at that and walked off.

"That Lily, ugh!" she fumed. "I swear, the only time nowadays where I can have a pleasant day out in public is when I'm by myself or with Tracey," she grumbled, thinking about her oldest sister's boyfriend, and her own good friend back home in Kanto.

"Zu zu, Azurill," chirped the Polka Dot Pokémon in agreeance.

"Oh, how I miss not having to spend most of my days with my sisters…"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Ash barely managed to hide a twitch in his eyes when looked over and saw – much to his extreme displeasure – that Serena was eying more fashion items. "Serena," he groaned, "I get that you like that stuff, but does a _dress_ really seem like a proper present for your Pokémon?"

"Aww, come on," said Serena, pouting. "Doesn't hurt to look, does it? And besides, it would be useful if Fennekin could adorn a dress for my upcoming Performance."

"True," conceded Ash, smiling. "But it would help to look for gifts that are their sizes, wouldn't it?"

Serena blushed and reluctantly admitted that he had a point. But the problem still persisted, and Ash found himself getting flustered at the lack of progress either of them were having at finding a gift for their Pokémon, no matter what he looked at, he couldn't find something practical, useful, or whatever it was that would seem suitable to him for his Pokémon.

As the two were walking up some steps, Serena found a shop that caught her interest, but Ash – who was a few steps behind her – saw an alleyway off to his side that lead to more shops. "Hey, Serena!" he called. "I'm going to go check out these shops, meet you back at the train station!" And before he could hear of any indignation from her, Ash ran off, much to Serena's displeasure.

Misty sighed as she exited another store that had failed to pique her interest. "Oh Azurill, I'm sorry, I just can't really find anything of value here," she said apologetically to her Pokémon. "It's times like these where I wish Brock was around, he'd know what to look for…"

Just then she heard a sudden cry to her right, and the sound of someone falling over, followed by multiple objects clanging together caught her attention. "Oh man…" came a gruff voice. Misty made her way over, curious to see what the commotion was about.

A man who appeared to be the stall owner was sweat dropping, as he overlooked a young man was sprawled over the stone tiles. "Hey," began Misty. "Are you all right?" She peered closer, her eyes widened in surprise of what she saw. Black spikey hair, z's under the eyes, a voice that only sounded slightly rougher than it was before – Ash Ketchum.

"Ouch," he grumbled. "Well," he went on, addressing the stall owner, "the thoughts nice, thank you, but I don't think these are what I'm looking for."

The man gave a nervous chuckle and went about retrieving his items back. As he did so, Ash carefully began to get back up; as he got his back up, a sudden pale hand came into his view, he looked up to see who its owner was, to say he was surprised to see who's face it was would've been an understatement. "Misty…?" he asked, perplexed.

"Hey Ash," said Misty softly. "Long time no see…"

"Well I'll be!" replied Ash, accepting her hand as she helped pull him up. "It is you, Misty! What with the orange hair and voice," he said, taking her in, he rose to his full height, and Misty found herself having to look up by a few inches. "What are you doing all the way out here?!" went on Ash. "Not that it's not good to see you, but…just, wow."

Misty just smiled. "Yeah, good to see you to, it's been too long."

Ash nodded. "So…want to go shopping with me?"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"Whoa," said Ash. "She wants to try on _that_ many shoes?" Misty nodded. "I guess that's your sister for ya."

"Yeah," said Misty, awkwardly sweating. "And that's just Serena for you."

"Honestly," mused Ash. "Girls and shopping, just…bleh!" he grumbled, before realizing who he was talking to as his first traveling partner glared at him. "But o-of course th-that's what makes you so great, Mist. You're the exception, sure you sometimes go on a shopping kick, but generally you're not as into shopping as some of the other girls I've known throughout my life. That's what I like about you, you're not as...as…"

"One-track minded?" suggested Misty.

"Yeah," agreed Ash, not sure if that really would've been the word to use. "So," he went on, trying to change the subject, "you came here to Kalos to support Lily on one of her gigs here in Coumarine?" Misty nodded in confirmation. "Huh, that's awfully nice of you. Course, I imagine running into me wasn't something you expected?"

"Nuh, uh," replied Misty. "It's a complete coincidence."

Ash hummed in amusement as he casually threw his hands to the back of his head and connected his fingers. "Guess it's lucky then that I was out here shopping in this district for the Festival today," he mused.

"Speaking of the Festival," thought Misty aloud. "Where's Pikachu?"

"Oh him? He's back at the Pokémon Center with the rest of my Pokémon. I want their gift to be a surprise."

"Have you found anything yet?"

"Err…no…"

"I'm sure you'll find something," said Misty, hoping to boost his confidence.

"Thanks Mist," replied Ash, staring off into the sky absently. "What about you? Find anything for your Pokémon?"

"Some stuff, but not a lot…wish I could find some more though that could really show my gratitude towards them."

"Guess we're both in a bit of a rut then," said Ash with a sigh. He lowered his hands and looked solemnly up at the sky. "I bet that Clemont and Serena are having an easier time than me with this stuff."

"Aw c'mon Ash," said Misty. "Don't give up, I'm sure you'll find something, you always do come through in the end, and besides," she added with a smile, "it's not like you to ever give in and admit that you can't do what others can, right?" Ash blinked, taking her words in. "Just listen to what your gut says, and it won't lead you astray. It never has in the past, has it?"

"Thanks Misty," murmured Ash, awed by her words, and in that moment he had a strange feeling wash over him. In that sunset light, there was something about the way Misty looked that caused his eyes to stare at her, her very words resonated within him to some capacity, and the way the light reflected off of her hair made it look as though she was glowing. His gut was currently feeling very, very weird.

He averted his gaze to quickly shake off the strange feeling, and looked around for a moment, and noticed a souvenir shop close by, an idea came to him. "Hey Misty, be back a second! I want to see what's in there." And he ran off.

"O-okay," said Misty, perplexed by had happened. Meanwhile, inside the shop, Ash looked around, hoping to find _something_ , and he did, it was perfect…

"So," said Misty after Ash came back out. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Kinda," replied Ash, avoiding eye contact for a little bit. "But not really…"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

It was lucky for Misty that Lily just happened to have finished her shopping when she did, as ironically both her and Ash found their other partners at the station. Instantly both Misty and Serena weren't sure what to make of each other. Ash was oblivious to the unknown tension, and ended up getting rewarded by the station staff for being the millionth passenger, and got a blue ribbon as a prize. But even after he got the strange gift, he was still puzzled over what to do.

"You know," said Serena at last. "They're _you're_ Pokémon, right? They'll love whatever it is that you give them – what you like is probably what they like."

"She's right!" added Misty, realizing what Serena was getting at. "Think of whatever it is that makes you happy, and that'll be enough for them." She sighed though after she said that, not sure if she herself knew something charitable that made her happy.

"Something that makes me happy…" said Ash quietly. He closed his eyes to try and think – Grr – everyone jumped as Ash's stomach gurgled loudly. Ash laughed nervously as sweat dripped down his forehead. "Whoops," he chuckled. "With all the thinking and walking I've been doing, I didn't have the time to find something eat."

Lily and Serena could only smile awkwardly at the nineteen year olds plunder, but when Misty was about to make a joke, her stomach suddenly gave a light growl. "Oops," she said, laughing nervously while blushing. "Guess I'm in the same boat."

Ash just chuckled, when it hit him, his eyes widened at the thought. "That's it!" he shouted, standing up. "I figured it out, the perfect gift!"

"Wait, Ash," began Misty. "What are you talkin – "

"Oh come on Misty," said Ash. "What is it that would make _me_ happy?" Misty was about to reply when it also hit her. She could only smile.

"You know what, Ash? You're right."

To both Serena's and Lily's surprise, both Ash and Misty suddenly went running out of the station, but not before the latter had given her Azurill to Serena, she didn't trust Lily enough. "We'll see you at the tree!" was the only response they got from the two trainers.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"So there you are, Ash," said Clemont when he saw Ash and a girl who he never met before arrive back at the Pokémon Center. He had been informed of the arrival of Ash's longtime friend, and had become acquainted – some would say 'unfortunately' – with Lily, well, after enduring embarrassment from Bonnie trying to propose to the pinkette for him. It was lucky for the young man that the elder girl had the grace to not say anything about the incident. "It took you long enough."

Ash meanwhile just chuckled lightheartedly before turning his head to smile at Misty. "Yeah, sorry, it took a while to sort everything out. But hey, we both figured out what to get in the end." Misty just smiled back at Ash and hummed in agreement.

But Bonnie got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Excuse me," she began. "You're 'Misty', right?"

"Err – yes?"

"Then please," said Bonnie suddenly, taking a knee in front of the Cerulean Gym Leader. "You're a keeper! Please take care of my brother," she declared, holding a hand out. Misty blinked, before realizing what the little girl had meant.

"W-what?!" shrieked Misty, startled by the fact that a nine year was asking her to be a bride. Lily was speechless, Serena just smiled awkwardly, and Clement was a furious shade of red.

"Bonnie…!" shouted Clemont as a drop of a bag was heard.

"Aw c'mon big brother- ow!" cried Bonnie suddenly, as she was suddenly lifted up onto her feet, her right ear in pain. To everyone's surprise, there was Ash, bent down with an annoyed look on his face, his eyes were shut, he looked clearly annoyed as he held Bonnie by an ear – and if one looked closely, a small hint of a blush was under his eyes. His mysterious bag lying on the ground, still tied up even after it fell presumably out of his hands.

"That's enough," said Ash sternly before anyone could speak. "I won't have you going around and proposing to my friends like that, it's rather rude." And without another word he dragged her away from Misty. To say that Clemont and Serena were speechless was an understatement. Usually Ash would look rather amused whenever Bonnie tried to propose to other women, but this time, he was completely annoyed.

"Wow," murmured Misty, "didn't see that coming. Does he normally do that…?"

"N-no…" replied Serena, still shocked.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Later that evening the group finally got to present their gifts to their Pokémon at the Pledging Tree – after a brief scuffle with Team Rocket anyhow. Clemont's gift was a rather nice music box with hand built miniatures of his Pokémon on the turntable. Serena's was a dress for Fennekin, and new sunglasses for Pancham. Lily presented her Goldeen and Seel with necklaces.

Ash and Misty proudly presented to their Pokémon their collective gift of freshly picked berries, the two figured that they both loved to eat, and given Ketchum's growl from earlier they figured why not gift their Pokémon with food. Misty also took the time to show off some of the smaller items she had purchased specifically for some of her other partners – Politoed was especially thrilled by his new outfit.

Neither trainer noticed, but during their presentation, Misty's Luvdisc, 'Caserin', was casting the both of them a strange look as he glanced back and forth.

The evening though was still not free of surprises, as another event occurred when the traveling group was surprised to see a mysterious package for Serena, with the box turning out to be a gift sent over by Serena's mother for her performance the next day. That led to Ash surprising Serena by giving her his gifted blue ribbon.

"…Ah well," said Ash calmly after she asked him 'why'. "Your performance is up is tomorrow so I figured you could do with a little charm."

"Oh, I see," she murmured.

"Oh yeah," added Misty. "Ash told me this is going to be your first Showcase, so here's a good luck charm from me as well." In Misty's hand for her was a small blue and gold necklace. "I didn't realize I was getting two for one when I bought one for my Luvdisc," explained Misty. Ash meanwhile was just looking at her.

Then to everyone's sudden surprise, a chorus of loud noises could be heard as fireworks proceeded to go off before them. Everyone awed at the sight of them, Misty couldn't help but smile brightly, she hadn't expected her first day in Kalos to be so lively and fun, she took a moment to steal a glance at Ash, seeing him standing next to her only made her heart race, she quickly turned away, not wanting her unresolved feelings to take over.

Ash however caught that, and stole a glance himself at her, in the glow of the fireworks and the nearby lanterns her orange hair and pale skin seemed to glow in a way that entranced him. He shook it off though, and remembered something.

"Um, Misty," began Ash. Misty turned round, and seeing her eyes make contact with his caused a warm feeling to overcome his chest, he felt himself blushing. "Erm – um…" he fumbled, his hands sweating even more than usual under his gloves.

"Yes Ash?" asked Misty. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no," replied Ash, nervously avoiding eye contact by staring at her forehead. "It's just that – well – I – um…" he knew he was stalling, sweat building up and he felt lightheaded. "W-well, I just thought that since…y'know, it's been such a long time since we've seen one another, I thought well, I'm – um – just here!" he eventually shouted hoarsely, showing a bag in front of her. "For you…" he added quietly.

"For me…?" asked Misty, perplexed as she stared at the bag. She opened it tenderly, and it revealed something that caused her heart to skip a beat – a pink necklace made of Corsola shells and horns. She stared at it, and looked at Ash. "How?"

Ash just nervously scratched his nose. "Remember that gift shop we saw earlier? Well, when I went in there, I saw they were selling these necklaces, and I…well... I thought that gifting you one would be cool to do." He paused to gather his thoughts. "I just…I wanted you to know that…I'm thankful to you, like I am for my Pokémon."

"To me?"

"Yeah…for well, all the fun we've had, and just – I, err – well. I…" he stuttered, once more blushing madly. "I just like having you around…"

Misty went red, and stared at the gift. "Thank you, Ash," she said softly. "I love it."


	2. Possessed-evil Ash

_**Stranger Than Fiction**_

Once upon a time there was a village beside the sea, it was a ruled by a kingdom called Pewter just up the cliff from where the village was, said place laid between the sea and a thick forest. All sorts of Pokémon lived within that forest, and the towns folk lived in harmony with the nearby Pokémon, and all worked together to live happily – it was a stark contrast in comparison to the former kingdom that had once been there.

Many years ago there was a kingdom that was called Pokelantis, it was ruled by a Tyrant King, and it was because of his poor ruling that the end of his kingdom came about. It is said that he was obsessed with the idea to tame a legendary Pokémon named Ho-oh to, King Pokelantis wanted to rule the world with it, but this angered Ho-oh, and in its rage Ho-oh attacked the kingdom, and broke the dam that protected the king's castle was the ocean. The ocean poured in and caused a sudden landslide to bury the kingdom, no one survived and the kingdom of Pewter built its land over the remains many years later.

The kingdom itself was respected by the nearby Pokémon, as the rule from Pewter was much nicer than how Pokelantis treated them. However there was one Pokémon who wasn't so nice, he was very mischievous, and often liked to play tricks on the villagers, this Pokémon was a mysterious one, he liked to play tricks by teleporting objects, Pokémon, or even people through his rings – or even using those rings to steal food from Pokémon and people alike. The Pokémon was known to the villagers as 'Hoopa'.

Hoopa caused a lot of trouble, and so signs were posted all over the woodlands trails to warn visitors or merchants to be alert for the troublemaker.

There was a regular visitor to the village, he was from a much smaller village further along the coast, but because conditions along the coast were so bad, he had to traverse through the woods to get to kingdom's village, his name was Ash, and his business was to trade or sell clothes, or produce that he and his mother grew in their village. He also very good friends with one of the local young women in the kingdom's village, a girl named Misty, who was always very pleased to see him.

One day Ash and his Pokémon partner Pikachu were making a light journey to the kingdom. Ash had on him nothing but a traveling bag and Pikachu on top of his shoulder. "Ah," he said, stretching his arms out. "It feels so good to travel to Pewter vilalge without any burdens to carry with me. My back still hurts from the last time we were here."

Pikachu sighed in agreement. "And besides," went on Ash. "It'll be good to see Misty again…" he added, blushing slightly, this caused Pikachu to laugh. "Oh come off it," snapped Ash. "She's just a friend, it's not like I missed her to death or anything."

"Pika pika…"

Ash snorted. "It's not as if I'm that desperate to see her," he said, unaware that he had a spring in his step when he thought of how she looked. "It's not as if I have to see her. I can manage a visit to Pewter without needing to see her, it's not as though I miss seeing her in whatever dress she just got, or her eyes, or hair, or even getting to hear that voice of hers," then he realized what he was saying. "W-well, it's…just know that it's not because I miss her!"

Pikachu just snickered in response, and Ash just sighed in defeat, Pokémon were such strange creatures, how it was that they were able to read their long time human partners' minds was beyond him.

Unknown to either being, nearby was Hoopa, who snickered to himself behind a tree. "Oh ho-ho," he said to himself. "I was getting so bored with no one to play tricks on, but lo and behold suddenly I spy upon a young man and his Pokémon. They ought to be fun to play a few tricks on." He then quickly pulled out one of his mysterious rings and teleported himself away.

Ash and Pikachu were surprised when a golden ring suddenly appeared before them, and sliding out of was Hoopa. Instinctively the two of them froze up at the sight of the troublemaker, but Hoopa just laughed in a benevolent.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ash cautiously.

"Oh, I was just wandering around, bored out of my mind," said Hoopa innocently. "Then, I saw you two coming up, so I thought that I'd try and make friends with you both! Please? I'm ever so lonely, no one ever wants to play with me," he added with his hands together, looking sadly at the ground.

Ash and Pikachu felt sorry for the Mischief Pokémon, and agreed to play with him. "Sure, we'll be your friends," replied Ash, flashing a smile. "I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu." Pikachu lifted a paw and greeted the other Pokémon enthusiastically.

Hoopa smiled at that. "Yippy!" he said happily. "I know the perfect place where we can play!" And suddenly Hoopa summoned a giant loop, disappeared into it, and then pulled Ash and Pikachu into it.

When they went through the portal, the two friends found themselves in a strange stone-brick room, the walls covered in overgrown vines and moss – clearly the place hadn't been visited and cleaned for a long time. "Um, w-where are we…?" asked Ash, nervously looking around.

"Never mind that," said Hoopa enthusiastically. "I have something to show you!" And with that, he disappeared down a corridor. Ash sighed and followed along, as they walked, Hoopa began to talk to him and Pikachu. "Hey Ash, do you know of the tale of the king of Pokelantis?"

"Yes I have," replied Ash. "I heard that he was a terrible king, he tried to control Ho-oh and Ho-oh didn't take kindly to that, and ended up causing the destruction of Pokelantis, burying it under today's Pewter."

"Ooh, you're very smart!" Hoopa complimented, acknowledging Ash's understanding of the locations history. "But," he went on, "did you know that there's _more_ to that tale than that…?" Ash shook his head, Hoopa gave an exaggerated gasp. "Oh! Well, that's no surprise, it's not something everyone knows after all."

"What do you mean, Hoopa?"

"Ho-oh didn't get away that day," replied Hoopa in a serious tone. "King Pokelantis wanted revenge and escaped before he got buried under the rubble, and caught Ho-oh using a special Pokéball he had made for Ho-oh."

"You're kidding," gasped Ash, jaw dropped – as was Pikachu's.

"Nu-uh," said Hoopa plainly, even though he was laughing on the inside. "King Pokelantis successfully sealed Ho-oh, and then went back to the rubble, only to be buried with the rest of the Kingdom that day." Hoopa went silent after that. "But," he added a minute later, "who knows if Ho-oh escaped or not…"

Ash, being who he was, grew curious. "If I find that ball, I'll be sure to release Ho-oh!"

Eventually the friends got to a large room, and Ash immediately noticed a stone ball. "Well, well," said Hoopa aloud, "that's the ball that King Pokelantis captured Ho-oh in!"

"No way," gasped Ash, and he ran towards the ball as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder. He grabbed it, and held it out. "Ho-oh, I release you from your prison!" said Ash to it, when suddenly the ball opened, what happened next isn't exactly known.

But what is claimed to have happened was this: Ash's body glowed in a strange dark blue aura – he weakened – fell to his knees – before suddenly standing up and laughing, his countenance went from happy to suddenly looking very mean. "Ash…?" asked Hoopa, perplexed by what happened. What came out of Ash's mouth wasn't in a tone that was him, it was menacing, and laughed maniacally, and before either Pikachu or Hoopa could think, Ash charged off.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Somehow Ash managed to exit the old kingdom, and made his way to the village where he began to terrorize the villagers. Many thought it was their old friend Ash on one of his visits, but they were all very put off by how he would talk to them.

"You dare speak to me so blatantly?" was the gruff reply. "Don't you look at me like that – I am the King of Pokelantis, what possible right do you have to talk to me in such ways?"

The last person he said this to was a friend of Ash's named Ritchie, who panicked. "You're acting really weirdly, Ash!" he yelled, and ran off.

"Pah!" scoffed King Pokelantis as Ash, and stalked off in another direction.

Misty was inside her home, tending to some bread she had just finished baking when Ritchie burst in. "Misty! Misty!" he cried frantically.

"What, Ritchie? What's wrong?"

"It's Ash!" said Ritchie, fear evident in his voice. "I-I don't know why, but he's acting really weird!"

Misty's eyes widened. "How so?"

"He's going around the place claiming he's King Pokelantis and asserting his authority. I don't know what to make of it!"

"Oh Arceus…" said Misty quietly. She gathered herself and ran out the door.

King Pokelantis laughed evilly to himself. "So _this_ is what my kingdom has come to?" he asked distastefully. "What a joke, once I return to power I shall restore Pokelantis to its former glory and get rid of this joke of a town! Allowing peasants to roam so freely is a disgrace."

Misty saw her old friend. "Ash!" she called out, running towards him. King Pokelantis ignored her. "Hey!" said Misty more loudly – no response. "Hey! I'm talking to you, Ash!" she shouted angrily, grabbing him by a shoulder. But King Pokelantis wasn't amused; he glared at her out of the corner of Ash's eye, swung round and swiped her, pushing Misty onto her rear. "Ow!" she cried from both surprise and pain. "Ash, why?!" she exclaimed.

"Foolish girl!" roared back King Pokelantis. "Who do you think you are to walk up to a man like that?" Misty, completely hurt and taken aback, began to cry. King Pokelantis only began to laugh and mock her.

Deep in what he could only assume was his subconscious, Ash's eyes fluttered open. "W…what's happening?" he said to himself. He opened his eyes fully and to his horror, he could see Misty on the ground, her eyes red, seemingly unable to control her tears. "Misty!" he shouted.

 _Oh great_ , thought the disgraced King. _He's woken up, damn it_ …

He tried to push Ash back from speaking up, but was unable to do so as he would've wanted. To Misty, Ash began to shake rather violently, grunts and groans coming from him. "Ash," she whispered, tears hurting her eyes.

"PIKA!" Misty turned around, startled as Ash's companion, a Pikachu, suddenly came running at top speed. He jumped onto some barrels and leaped up, sparked from his red sacks, and fired off a huge Thunderbolt. Ash – or whoever he was – began to scream loudly. As he did so, a big, dark cloud suddenly emerged from Ash's head, and his body fell to the ground.

Misty stared, unable to say anything. Then she noticed a man stepping up next to her, he wore robes around his head, and had a very stern look on his face, he held out a stone ball, the same one Ash had held back in the lair. "Light come forth from the dark and return to the dark," he said. "Dark come forth from the light and return to the dark!" and before her eyes the mysterious cloud went into the ball. "And now that that's done," he went on darkly, he turned around and stared glared. "Show yourself!"

To Misty's utter surprise, Hoopa came forward, head down. "You know what you've done," said the man sternly to him, he then brought out a mysterious hourglass, and sucked Hoopa into it. Then, without another word, he walked away.

It was then that Ash stirred and awoke. "Ugh…M-Misty…?" he asked, looking around and seeing his friend.

"Oh Ash!" she yelled, suddenly overcome with emotions, she ran at him and wrapped her arms around his back.

"Agh!" exclaimed Ash in surprise, and embarrassment. But before he could say anything, his cheeks were scooped up by Misty.

"It's you, right?" she asked frantically. "You're don't hate me or anything, right?"

"Y-yes, of course," replied Ash nervously.

"Thank goodness," said Misty, and before Ash could say anything. She kissed him. "I love you," she declared suddenly. Ash went red in the face, and looked the other way.

"M…me to," he replied quietly.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"…And 'The End'!" proclaimed Misty excitedly as she stretched her hands back, feeling gleeful. Ash's eyebrows twitched in response to what he just saw written.

"So…this is what you've been up to this whole time?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh but of course!" replied Misty happily. "I mean, what you told me was crazy, how could I not turn it into fanfiction?"

"Okay…" said Ash, glaring at the screen. "But why on earth would you take that crazy event where King Pokelantis _did_ take over my body – which may I remind you was really freaky – and then what happened to me three months ago with Hoopa, and turned my darkest moments where I wasn't even sure I'd be okay, and turn it into rom com fan fiction?!"

"Because it'll help!" replied Misty happily. "See, by taking those bad memories of yours, and twisting the truths and realities into sweet, lighthearted Fairy Tales, it'll make them all less seem less bitter than what you remembered!"

Ash blinked, and leaned back into his chair. "…And why…" he fearfully asked. "Did you go through the trouble of even doing that…?"

Misty didn't answer immediately as she petted her Azurill thoughtfully. "Because…you just seemed really bothered by what happened to you," she eventually said. "I didn't want you to dwell too much on the 'what ifs' from then, since that's how it came off to me when you told me about those events, I don't like seeing you so worked up."

"Oh, I see," said Ash worriedly. "I didn't mean to make you sad, it's all in the past I…"

"I did this willingly out of love," said Misty suddenly. Ash choked – blushed – and stared at her, his glance caused Misty to feel uncomfortable. "What…?" she teased. "Is the girlfriend you've dated for two months not allowed to cheer her boyfriend up by?"

Ash shook his head. "Sorry," he said chuckling a little. "I guess I just got too caught up on it, that's all. Sorry, Mist, didn't mean to offend ya." Misty's gaze softened. "I did find it entertaining by the way," he went on, referring to the story. "Guess I just wasn't prepared for you to turn it into a full-fledged story. I did like it, so thanks." He paused and looked down at his gloves in thought. "And by the way…"

"Yes?"

He stood up, and got closer to her. "Thanks for going through all that trouble," he whispered, before gently kissing her, before slowly backing off.

"And you're always saying _I'm_ the sappy one, in this relationship?" teased Misty, thinking about the many times Ash freaked on her for getting romantic at what he deemed 'wrong moments.' Ash just blushed.

"Boyfriends do crazy things for their girlfriends," he replied.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 **Author's Note:** Woo! When I first saw that this was a prompt that won the voting rounds, I had to admit that I was worried about how I'd tackle it, as I wasn't sure if I could tackle Ash getting déjà vu, so I took aspects from both instances of Ash's 'evil possession' and meshed them into a Fairy Tale. What do you all think? And yes, the cheeky FanFiction writing Misty makes her return, lel.


	3. Trying to Impress Each Other

_**Head-butting**_

Ash Ketchum stood up top a hill in Professor Oak's corral stretching, he had an intense look in his eyes. "I'll show her…I'll show her…underestimate me will she…?" he grumbled under his breath.

"Ash…are you sure you're not just – er – worked up over nothing?" asked Tracey from where he was sitting, holding a stopwatch in his hands.

"No way!" replied Ash fiercely. "I will _not_ be insulted by her so easily. I – just – I – ugh…!" he yelled in frustration, before slapping himself in the face and turned to face Tracey, looking just a tiny bit calmer. "Listen, it was _Misty_ who started this, okay? I just…I can't stand how high and mighty she thinks she is, just because she's a Gym Leader. I mean really – it's like nothing I do is ever good enough."

Tracey sighed. "And you're sure this isn't an overreaction?"

"Definitely not."

"Okay…"

Ash gritted his teeth, his face scrunched up in confused frustration before blushing. "Ugh I can't stand the way she teases me! But oh, when _I_ tease her back, she gets all defensive. Ridiculous!"

Tracey sighed again, feeling as though the conversation was going in circles. "Then tell me this," he began, wearily. "Is this whole competitive thing only happening because you like her…?" At the sound of those words, Ash froze up, and remained silent for a near minute.

"…Maybe," he muttered after a while. Tracey just smirked – he got Ash well and good. It was true after all, Ash had recently come home from Sinnoh, proud at his achievements, everyone was happy to hear how far he had gotten. but things seemed to be awfully different, somehow with years between physically seeing each other, and only being able to talk via emails or calls, Ash had begun to miss his old friend more and more, to the point where the thought of her caused him to blush.

"I just…I really want her to see how far I've gotten," said Ash after pausing to collect his thoughts. "I'm not the same kid she fished out of a river so long ago – and don't you say I'm misinterpreting her either!" he snapped, catching Tracey off guard. "You've should've been there…'Oh' she said, 'you only got _that_ far in the league, huh? It's like you're still the same old Ash, running around in circles.' Well I'm not! I'll show her, just you wait and see!"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"Misty…" said Daisy tiredly. "Are you sure you didn't go too far?"

The girl in question was pacing around the gym's pool, and had a strange look on her face. She sighed. "I don't know…maybe I did, but…I'm not going to let what _he_ said slide!"

"What did he say that was bad?" Daisy asked, amazed she was even going to humor the situation.

"He said that anything he had done is miles ahead of anything I've achieved!" yelled Misty. "I'm a Gym Leader, damn it! He has no right to look down on me – acting all high and mighty just because he defeats a few trainers, wins a Frontier, and then goes around visiting more and more regions. Ugh, he pisses me off! I hate him sometimes!"

Daisy sighed, and tuned her sister's ranting out. When she finally cooled down, Daisy spoke up. "Misty? Are you absolutely certain you aren't freaking out because you love him or something like that?"

Misty's face instantly shot red. She was about to retort in anger, but remembered that she was talking to her most matured sister. "Yeah…" she conceded, hiding her eyes under her bangs. "I hate it though when he underestimates me. Sure…he's bigger than me now…but I'm still a Gym Leader! We have to be in top form, that's expected of us. No matter what, I'll show him, not like he can outdo me in everything we have planned…"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Misty gulped when Ash showed up at the race track, but she shook any off any chance of seeing it as romantic, it wasn't a date, it was a competition. "Okay, Ash," she said. "Now we'll see who the better person is."

"You'll be eating my dust soon enough," scoffed Ash as he got ready to sprint. "A trainer is only as good with their Pokémon if they can keep up with their speed - I've got this one in the bag."

"Says you," snapped Misty. "I'll leave you far behind." Ash was about to retort, but got interrupted by the starting shout, and the two took off running.

Ash sprinted as fast as he could, but Misty wasa able to keep pace, albeit just barely. Unfortunately, both lost stamina halfway through, the hot sun was wearing them out, and were pretty much wobbling along halfway through.

"I win," gasped Misty, as she fell to her knees when she crossed the finish line.

"No way," groaned Ash. "I was winning up till that last corner and you know it. I was just - ugh - feeling tired."

"Yeah right," said Misty, though her hard breathing suggested otherwise. "I was going easy on you."

"You mean I was," retorted Ash. "I just happened to be going easy on you today. I wasn't giving it my all, since you're so short, I thought your legs couldn't keep up…"

Misty scoffed. "Yeah right, I…" But she didn't get far, Ash had ran her ragged when she had tried to keep up, and she fainted from exhaustion. Ash was going to say something snarky, but collapsed over too.

"Right…" Tracey observed. "I think we'll call that a draw."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

The next area the two friends were trying to best each other at was swimming – they stood on separate dive boards at Cerulean Gym's pool.

"There's no way in hell you're going to beat me at this," shouted Misty from where she was, though she wasn't looking at him. She had to remember that they were in a race, otherwise she very well knew that she would've gladly stared all day at his exposed torso, given the fact that all he had were his swim trunks.

"Yeah sure, short stuff," replied Ash smugly, although confident, he was a bit scared. Misty was a water-type expert after all, she was probably more adept at swimming than he was, still, he was determined not to be outdone by her. He too however was suffering silently, trying to ignore the idea of her swimsuit, he didn't dare look at her.

Daisy waved her flag, and the two launched off. Misty kicked as hard as she could - as did Ash, given Ash's appendage span however, it was close. They reached the end of the pool, and turned to swim back, Misty having elegantly swam under and popped back up. Ash however stumbled and kicked as he turned around, when he was her splashes in front of him, he took off so fast it was almost comic.

"Well?" called Misty, when she reached back to hwere they started.

"Um," said Daisy, scratching her cheek. "I'm...not sure..."

"Are you kidding me?!" cried Misty, shocked. Ash just looked dejected.

"Well, what can you say," laughed Daisy nervously. "He's bigger than you and that does make a subtle difference in speed."

"Damn it all…" grumbled Misty. Ash laughed, but was quickly silenced when Misty forcefully shoved him by the shoulder underwater, gritting her teeth.

OoOoO

"Gliscor, use Giga Impact!" shouted Ash, there was just no way, but, to his chagrin, there was. He and Misty were battling, it was Gliscor vs Gyarados, and despite the type disadvantage, he was keeping her at bay, much to Misty's distaste and to Ash's amazement, which he wasn't shy from bragging about.

Gliscor meanwhile went into the air, a clash prior between Stone Edge and Hyperbeam had occurred, and Ash saw the perfect opportunity to hit Gyarados back with a physical equal in the smoke. The Fang Pokémon disappeared into the smoke, and Gyarados, unable to move, got hit in the face by Gliscor, who was quick to fly off.

"We won't lose," shouted Misty, "use Hurricane!" Gyarados shouted, enraged by how it was being bested, and fired, churning up the ground type, albeit the damaged wasn't much due to him being so far away.

"Use Stone Edge!" called Ash. Gliscor quickly formed the rocks around itself, and fired away. Smacking Gyarados.

"Fight back, Hydro Pump!" Gliscor wasn't able to fully dodge, and ended up taking the attack. The two stared each other down, before both fainted simultaneously.

"Are you kidding me?!" the two shouted at the same time. The others in attendance just laughed.

"Oh dear," mused Professor Oak. "Try as they might, those two seem to be equals in every regard."

"That's my Ash," said Delia proudly.

"Misty's like, no slouch either," added Daisy. "Although to be honest, she is wearing herself out with all of this. She's more physically exhausted every day because of this."

The next few 'races' were to say the least, interesting. A test to see who could be awake for longer saw Ash as the winner, but a staring contest saw Misty as the winner. When they tried to test their Pokémon knowledge, the result was a draw - and later during an arm wrestle, Misty won, then she won a competition to see who could wash their clothes fast enough, much to Ash's embarrassment.

Somehow, this divulged into the final contest being...a bake off; and both somehow saw this the same way – convey to the other how they felt.

It was to be a quiet affair, after watching physical contest after physical contest, everyone had gotten bored of watching the two going at each other, so had called it quits. Leaving the final contest to be decided by them alone.

"Please!" pleaded Ash into the phone. "I've never been so serious about a request like this in my whole life! You've gotta help me."

" _Whoa…you're really taking this_ that _seriously?_ " asked Dawn on the other end of the line, her expression on the video phone was one of bewilderment.

"Dawn, listen, this fight, I _need_ to win, do you hear me?" said Ash. "Like, this has the same stakes for me as it does for whenever I battle Paul, that's how bad I need to win this."

Dawn choked. " _Whoa, that is heavy_ _and dire_ …" she breathed. " _Okay fine, I'll help. But still, the last time you baked, you burnt the poffins without even trying…_ "

"Which is why I'm turning to you…" replied Ash.

" _Okay, okay_ ," said Dawn, smiling nervously. " _I'll help, just do as I say, and you'll be fine – no need to worry._ "

At those words, Ash's face fell. "That's when I worry the most…"

" _Oh shut up!_ "

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Misty knew she was running late, and panted as she came crashing through the front doors of the Ketchum's dining inn, the families business in Pallet Town, it was closed for the day, and had been Ash and Misty's agreed meet up spot.

Ash gulped when he saw her stumble in. "Uh, right," he said, standing up. "Not that we're here, um…" he felt lame for stumbling over his words. Ash inwardly sighed, he knew he sucked at properly conveying certain types of emotions, but he had to have guts at the moment. He grabbed at the box that was hiding his cake. "Guess it's time to…exchange…"

"Y-yeah," stuttered Misty, equally as nervous.

The two sat across from each other in awkward silence, hiding their respective cakes behind them. Ash plucked up courage, and tenderly placed his box before her, but before Misty could do the same, Ash coughed. "Huh?" she asked, looking up at him.

Ash took a deep breath, ready for his resolve. "Misty, there's…something I – well, been meaning to say for a while now." He paused and looked her in the eye. "I never meant it when I said those things a few weeks back. I think you're one of the best trainer's to ever walk on Arceus' green earth. I don't think I'm better than you, if anything this whole contest between you and me has proven that more than ever. If I'm to be to be honest, I think you're accomplishments far surpass my own."

Misty choked. "W-what…? W-where is this coming from?" she stuttered, blushing from the unexpected praise. "You shouldn't talk down on yourself, you're an amazingly accomplished trainer, I–"

Ash raised a hand. "Misty," he said, a neutral expression adorning his countenance. "I think highly of you, I respect and admire you, as a trainer and…as a person. You've been my longest held friend, not that anyone else doesn't matter. But…I've come to see you in a different light than the others, which is why…" he opened the box. Misty's eyes widened as she took it in. Firstly, it was a chocolate cake, her favorite. Secondly, there, written in frosting, was 'I love you – Ash'. The male in question looked at her and smiled. "I mean, Misty."

Misty's heart felt as though it was racing at one hundred miles per hour, her face was bright red and puffs of steam were coming out of her head. She gulped and gave Ash an honest, soft smile. "Oh Ash…" she breathed, she then put her box in front of him, opened it, and showed off the same sentiment on hers. "I feel the same," she whispered.

Ash too went red and just smiled. "Awesome," was the only thing he could say. He then took a plastic fork, took a piece of his cake, and put it into Misty's mouth. At first the Cerulean Gym Leader was outwardly hesitant at being fed, but she gave in and ate it. Her eyes twinkled from how good it tasted, not the best, but she liked it well enough.

She then wanted to do the same for him. "Aww, Mist, I can feed myself!" Ash said at first, but gave in once he saw she was glaring at him. He opened his mouth, took a bite, and his whole face scrunched up. "Urgh," he groaned, the last time with the poffins, he remembered being disgusted by his own creation, but Misty's…despite being his now girlfriend, was – well…

"Oh c'mon Ash Ketchum," cried Misty. "It can't be that bad!" And she jabbed her cake and put the new piece into her mouth, and instantly felt like crying. "Ew…!" she moaned.

"Well then," quipped Ash, smiling nervously whilst sweating profusely. "We now know who the better baker is between us…"

"Yup," conceded Misty, face palming, "you win in that respect."

"Guess that makes us equals in every regard…?"

"Yes Ash – indeed it does."

"Cool…" said Ash quietly, he then leaned over, getting closer to her. Misty didn't notice a thing until she felt one of his bare hands touch her face, making her look up to him, but before she could process anything, he pecked her softly on the lips. "I love you Misty."

"Ash…same," she whispered, before connecting their lips once more, allowing Ash to give her more.

"Well," said Ash after they backed off each other. "You're cake well…tastes bad." Misty hung her head low in defeat. "But your kiss is – well – sweet as heck."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 **Author's Note:** And with that, unfortunately that is the last of the on time Pokeshipping Week fanfics you'll see from me. Real life has me all tied up, so for the moment you'll have to content yourselves with these. Might be a few days before I can get the others rolling in terms of writing, hope you all don't mind.


	4. Traveling Companions Reactions

_**Oh Man…**_

"…Please, go out with! I like you, a lot…please…"

"Um – well, I…oh whoa this is so sudden…um…please take it it easy on me…I-I know next to nothing about this sort of thing…"

"Oh Ash, thank you…!"

"Um – er – I'll be in your care…" _Man…why'd I have to go and say_ that _?! It's so cliché…!_

"And…I'll be in yours."

Ash Ketchum had been surprised when he had learned that Professor Kukui had somehow gotten in touch with his first traveling companions Brock and Misty, and had asked them to be the Pokémon Schools Kanto tour guides for when the class took a field trip to his home region. On the end of the first day back however, he hadn't expected Misty to suddenly confess to him.

He would've been lying if he said he hadn't had similar thoughts about her in recent years. The many years that they had spent apart, but still communicated via calls or emails had been enough to maintain their friendship, it even still caused old feelings to stay nurtured, which Ash supposed was how it had gotten to the point it was at the present.

As they walked back to where the others were, Misty had a sudden realization. "Oh crap!" she cried. "How are we going to tell the others!?"

Ash froze in his steps. "Oh dear…" he muttered.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _The Alolan Classmates, plus Brock_

"Well, I suppose that doesn't come as a surprise," said Lana, with her chin resting thoughtfully on her hand as she nodded up and down. "He does carry around with him a lure in the shape of her, _and_ she seemed pretty happy to be with him after so long." At the sound of her words, Ash never wanted to bury himself more than that.

"You saw it coming?!" spluttered Mallow, in shock. "I _never_ saw this coming at all! I-I…" she stuttered, unsure really of what to say. "…I…I just, congrats…? I mean…Ash dating someone, it…it should be inevitable, being nineteen and all that…but still…"

"Ugh," groaned Ash. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," he added as he meekly twiddled his thumbs whilst tears streamed comically down his face.

"I agree," said Sophocles. "Based on everything I thought I knew about Ash, I would've thought dating was something that was out of his range, but this is such a huge anomaly!"

"I'm happy for him but…I'm just surprised," added Kiawe.

"You guys…" said Ash irritably. But before he could go on, a sharp groan was heard.

"Ugh…lucky bastard…" groaned Brock from under a table, he was laying on his side, curled up in the fetal position with his back to the rest of the group. "Ash gets a girlfriend before me…not fair man…"

Ash and Misty just sweat dropped.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Dawn_

Ash looked awkwardly away to the side, unsure if the call was either frozen, or if the girl on the other end of the line was having some sort of medical emergency, but whatever the case, he was getting a strange vibe through just the image of her alone. "D-Dawn…?" he asked after a few minutes of the long silence. "Are you okay…?"

Dawn blinked. "Huh? O-oh yeah, I-I'm fine ha ha…!" she paused, Ash gulped, Dawn had a very annoyed look on her face as though he had done something wrong. "I'm not sure whether it's my imagination or not, but – did you just say you're dating Misty?!"

"Y-yeah, that's what I said."

Dawn blinked, her mouth tightened in an awkward manner. "Dang…" she breathed, leaning back, she had an unreadable expression on her countenance. "Sorry, I need a moment."

"A-are you…mad?" asked Ash nervously.

"Nope," replied Dawn, "just…stunned, that's all." She closed her eyes before opening them again. "I'll be honest; I didn't expect you to start dating for at least another few years. I mean, this has to be one of the strangest revelations ever to come out of you…" she paused for a moment, before her brow scrunched and she began to kick and scream in frustration. "Dang it all – Ash and Misty have it all figured out! But Paul can't even figure out what he feels for me, and I've confessed to him over five times now! No fair!"

"Dawn…?" asked Ash, nervously.

"I'm beyond jealous! UuuUUUUuuuugh ohhhhhhhhhh!"

"Best to just hear her out, and nod your head and tell her that it's okay at intervals," whispered Misty into Ash's ear. "I have a feeling she'll be like this for a while."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Tracey_

"Eh, I always figured you two would eventually be a thing," said Tracey, sounding unfazed. "Well, mind, I still can't believe it took you some seven years to figure it out, you two were absolutely dealing with some demons when I first met you two, clearly some sexual tension was going on, even at that age." Ash and Misty both felt stabbed in the back at Tracey's words.

"If you knew back then…" said Ash slowly.

"…Why didn't you say a thing…?" finished Misty.

"Oh? That's easy," replied Tracey, casually looking over his shoulder as he carried a large stack of papers in both of his arms. "You two were both too stubborn and dense at the time, so I doubt you would've accepted what you were feeling if told about it directly." With that, Tracey began to whistle gaily as he walked off, leaving the couple to fall over comically.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Iris_

Iris raised an eyebrow. "Um…" she began, fiddling with her straw. "I guess…congrats, kid?"

Ash blinked. "Okay, firstly I'm not a kid." A snort of laughter was his answer. "Oh please! We're the same age, and I'm older than you! Anyways…really, that's all?"

Iris leaned back, crossed her legs, and went back to drinking her smoothie. "I'm nobody's girlfriend, and romance really isn't a forte of mine, so I've got nothing to say."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Bonnie and Clemont_

Misty held her ears and could only smile sympathetically at Clemont through the screen, despite being the youngest sister of four, her 'older sisters' could sometimes be just as rowdy and rambunctious as a younger sister would, which was exactly what this Bonnie was doing.

"Bonnie," groaned Clemont, "you don't have to yell so loudly…"

"But big brother!" whined Bonnie. "Ash has been in need of a wife, and Misty looks to be the perfect one for him!" Misty blushed intensely, and hoped that the two arguing siblings wouldn't turn back to their monitor to see how embarrassed she was from the comment.

"Okay, I get that…" said Clemont. "But do you _have_ to be like this?"

"But she looks so perfect for him! I mean, that's the girl who made him that lure, and he talked about her a number of times…" Misty could feel her temperature rising every second.

"Sorry I took so long!" said Ash, catching Misty off guard. "Man…your sisters sure do buy a lot of packages, why drag me into that mess I'll never know…"

"Ash!" yelled Bonnie. "Congrats on your girlfriend, you really know how to pi–" But the little girl was interrupted by Clemont, who dragged her out of view, much to Misty's relief.

"Sorry about her," whispered Ash into his girlfriend's ear. "Guess I shouldn't have left you alone to her mercy."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Cilan_

"Oh, holy matrimony! A most wondrous mix, it's like a well-made drink made of two different yet similar flavors that compliments one another whilst maintaining their own individual qualities!" cried Cilan. Ash sighed – he knew he should've seen that coming from Cilan.

Luckily for him, Misty was taking it all in stride. "Whoa," she awed. "You really think that me and Ash are that compatible?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh but of course!" cheered Cilan. "You perfectly balance him, like a well-seasoned herb to any dish that could use that extra oomph…!" Ash smiled, only Cilan, he thought.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Serena_

Serena's eye twitched. "O-oh!" she stuttered. "So _you're_ Misty, are you?" she asked, glancing to the orange-head. "I've…heard somethings…about you…"

Misty immediately knew something was up with this 'Serena', but what the blonde had just said piqued her interest. "Oh, what sort of things…?" she asked, sparing a suspicious glance over at her boyfriend, who only tilted his head in wonder.

Serena shifted awkwardly. "Just stuff about you being the greatest water-type trainer in the entire world, you have an obsession with chocolate, you hate bug-types, and you're irrationally stubborn and temperamental."

Misty groaned. "Figures he'd say that…"

Serena sighed. "Although…I am summarizing, he usually just said things like, 'oh, she can be so mean! She is a girl, but her attitude is so boyish sometimes!' and things like that."

"Oh, did he now…?" asked Misty, glaring once more at Ash.

"I know, right!" said Serena. "I couldn't help but feel bad for you, what with him talking some shamefully behind your back like that! So insensitive…"

"Quite! He's such an idiot…"

"How did this turn on me…?" moaned Ash, and plopped his head down on the desk.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Max and May_

"Sis, calm down, please calm down!" yelled Max. Ash and Misty stared to where May was, on the couch in her home, thrashing wildly.

"Agh, I just can't believe it!" said May as she sprung up. "You two finally did it! What was the setting like?! Any witnesses? How long ago was it? Have you two kissed yet…?" she rambled.

"Oh for the love of Slaking…" groaned Max.

Ash and Misty looked at each other, hand in hand. "Um…" said Misty, nervously, unsure if she should answer the brunette or not. "It was in the woods…"

May gasped – or more accurately squeaked – loudly, the three cringed. "Ah! So romantic! Were you two by yourselves?! Or did you two allow some desires to get out of control…?!"

"What!? May, I'm right here!" said Max furiously.

Misty went scarlet, and Ash sweat dropped. "May…Misty only confessed that time…" May, who was in a daze, heard Ash, and sobered up.

"Oh? That was it? Well then," she said, cleaning up her act so well it was frightening, "good on you, Misty. When me, Max, Brock, and Ash were traveling I cannot tell you how cautious he was around me since I wasn't you! I can't tell you how obvious I thought the two of you were whenever you were with us." At that, it was Ash's turn to feel embarrassed.

"Hell," went on May. "Sometimes whenever I couldn't sleep at night, I would hear Ash muttering your name in his sleep, it was so–"

"Okay May!" said Ash, standing up, his face covered in an intense blush. "That's enough!"

"What?" asked May, tilting her head, Max face palmed at his sister's obliviousness. "I'm just stating facts." Ash just groaned.


	5. Maiden's Peak Revisited

_**Thoughts Adrift**_

"I'm not happy," said Misty.

"Azu…"

"Then – like – find some happiness," replied Violet.

Misty glared. "And _how_ am I supposed to do that presently?"

"Azurill, rill rill!"

"I don't know," her sister grumbled.

"Then why did you suggest that I cheer up if you have no solution…?"

"I-I…" stuttered Violet, unsure how to react. "I figured that, like, _you_ could do that on your own! Jeez, why'd you have to go and pin it on me?! Stop being such a kill joy!" And she walked away. Misty sighed and looked around sadly, despite the happy atmosphere and all of the guests walking around in their rented kimonos – fourteen year old Misty Waterflower couldn't find it within herself to be cheerful.

She was in attendance to the Maiden's Peak Festival with Violet, along with Casey and Tracey. Daisy was in attendance too, but…she seemed to be using the event to get closer to a certain Pokémon Watcher rather than sticking to family, something Misty had picked up on after a while since she had become Gym Leader just a few months prior.

Despite it all however, even with Azurill in her arms, she still felt lonely. Something felt as if it was missing, or rather it was _someone_ who was missing. Misty sighed, and wandered about, hoping to run into someone she knew, maybe that was it, it had been over an hour since they arrived, but she had spent most of it with the grumbling – and somewhat cold and distant – Violet, who didn't even pay her younger sister much attention aside from criticizing her attitude.

At last after getting herself a candied apple, she ran into Casey and her Meganium. "Oh, hey Misty!" said the other girl, waving at her with her cotton candy.

"Hey," said Misty half-heartedly. Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, somethings up, I can tell."

Misty just let out a breath that indicated that something was up. "You're good at reading people, Casey," she said before leaning via her front on a railing that overlooked the ocean. "I guess I do have something stirring in my head…"

"Is it something to do with the Gym?"

"No."

"Big sister problems?"

"I wish…"

"Okay then…then what _is_ the problem?" There was a long silence.

Casey observed Misty for a moment, carefully taking in the other girl's demeanor, but for the life of her and all of her bets she had made on the Electabuzz winning their matches, she couldn't figure out the Gym Leader's problem.

"I miss Ash…" whispered Misty after what seemed like ages to her.

Casey blinked, taken aback, her eyes widened. "Oh…" she began, and thought back to when that Georgio person had tried to ask Misty out. She wanted to ask her if that was him she was referring to back then, but held back. "You wish you didn't have to leave him, do you?"

"Yeah...I…" Misty paused to gather her thoughts – she looked up at the stars and gave a sad smile. Casey felt bad for her; she could see the pain in Misty's eyes that could only come from unexpected separation from someone who was important to them. "…didn't want to leave him, not at all."

"You enjoyed being with him for the sake of being with him…?"

"Indeed…" said Misty sadly, she took a bite from her apple and chewed slowly. "It's not the same without him at all. I…I miss living right beside him, hearing him talk to me, us arguing, traveling everyday as if there was all the time in the world…" Misty sighed, not quite sure if she should've revealed so much about what she was feeling so openly. "Sorry," she said, "I'm rambling."

"No, no, not at all," insisted Casey. "Please, go on."

Raising an eyebrow, Misty looked at the purple-haired girl for a moment, wondering why she was so interested in what she felt – she considered telling her off and to mind her own business, but instead she decided to let her walls down, it wasn't as if venting was going to do any harm. "Sometimes I can't help but that think I was more of a burden to him than anything."

"What?!" asked Casey, shocked. "How can you say that?"

"I don't really think like that!" put in Misty quickly, waving a free hand while trying to laugh the obscure comment off. "It's just…I don't know…I doubt Ash would seriously think like that, he told me on our last day about how it was though we were meant to meet and become friends…" her eyes watered at the memory and a blush came over her cheeks. Azurill was confused, whilst Casey look intrigued by the sight.

"…I was so happy he said that to me," went on Misty. "I never thought of it that way. There were…times, where I wondered if traveling with him was worth it, my dreams and aspirations, that time Rudy flirted with me…there were times…that I…" she choked a little, "considered the thought of leaving him. But when he told me that, I realized that my decision to stay was never in vain…" Misty trailed off and turned to see what Casey thought.

The other girl's jaw was hanging open, stunned. "Whoa," she breathed. "That was…so cute."

Misty blushed. "Sorry," she apologized awkwardly. "You're only twelve. I really shouldn't be bothering you with all of this…"

"Oh no!" defended Casey. "Please, go on!"

"All right…so I…well…I guess that's why I'm so sad right now." Misty paused and looked around, Casey followed her gaze. "Azurill?" addressed Misty, before doing the same for Casey and Meganium. She had a look in her eyes that Casey could only interpret as one that indicated she was about to spill her heart out. "This festival was kind of…well, the first time where I think something between me and Ash changed. I don't know why, but well…see, there was a dance in traditional Kantonese style, kimonos and all, and well…Ash never really saw me as a girl, I guess, he was…pretty stunned when he first saw me in a bikini after all…" she hid under her bangs and blushed at the memory. "I wanted to look good for him, so after getting into my kimono I spent some five minutes brushing my hair…"

"And did he notice?" asked Casey.

",,,Yeah, he noticed," said Misty quietly. "At the time I didn't think much of it, I just wanted him to see me as a girl, but I didn't think he'd stare at me for so long as he did. We…danced together after that – a child's dance of course! We were only eleven at the time…good times," reflected Misty, as a more calming blush warmed her cheeks whilst she smiled in a way that Casey thought was so sweet.

"And, well," went on Misty. "Being here only reminds of how much I miss Ash…even seeing him for one day, _one_ day makes me wish I could just leave and go back to being with him. Oh…curse him and his charm, big-hearted, stubborn, a bit brash, but he's got such nice hair, and eyes…and he always says things that just resonate with me and that's why I…" she stopped and sighed. "But it's no use; I doubt he'd feel the same about me."

Casey stopped her fantasies for a moment and stared at Misty. "What?" she shrieked. "All of that, and then you say that you aren't going to pursue his love?!"

"Well, y-yeah," replied Misty. "He's off in Hoenn right now, with May…" she sighed. "He didn't try to fight for me when I left, not that he had a chance to anyways…he said we're friends and I doubt he'd–"

"Cut that nonsense off!" yelled Casey abruptly. "So what if he says that you're just best friends? You _love_ him for Mew's sake, and you've got to fight for that!"

"But…"

"No buts about it, Misty!" said Casey firmly. "So what if he's dense or whatever his deal is? Go for him, who cares if there are other girls around? _Make_ him fall for you! If he reacted to you with your hair down, there _must_ be some mutual feelings, right? Get those out of him."

"But Casey!" interrupted Misty forcefully. "Ash, he well…he loves Pokémon, and he loves to travel, he has his own dreams…I can't just bother him with my love…even _if_ there is a slight chance that he feels the same, I couldn't force him to be in a relationship with me…I'd only hold him back…"

"Oh, cut the cra–" Casey stopped when she realized what she was about to say. She coughed to correct her language. "Cut that out. If your love runs so deep for him, and he feels the same – why wait for an answer?"

"…So he knows what he's feeling…?"

"Wrong!" shouted Casey. "You've got to help him realize it, don't stand like a wallflower for him. Nurture those feelings out of him, don't leave it to him. Besides, wouldn't it be unfair to make him realize it on his own? Fight for him! Even the best of the best had to learn from someone – like baseball pitchers and batters! They needed someone else to rain them up, so be like the Electabuzz! Talk to Ash, nurture a relationship out of him! If he can't see it, then make him!" With that, Casey stopped rambling and began to pant, her rant taking the air out of her lungs.

"See?" she said, after a long silence. "Don't content yourself with being friends, you feel so strongly for him. Go for broke and hit him with your best pitch, and if he's not up for bat, then _train_ him for the batter up. You get me?"

Misty blinked, completely taken aback by what the other girl had said. She took a while before smiling. "Yes Casey," she said quietly. "I understand entirely what you mean. I'll try it."

"Great!" cheered Casey delightedly. "Now then, back to the festivities!" And she ran off. Misty smiled, all of a sudden, her festive spirit came right back to her. She looked up at the stars in thought.

"Yes," she said quietly to herself. "For him, I'll give it my all."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 **Author's Note:** Whew! This one is one I'm proud of, as I've gotten my word count under control! Anyways, initially my idea for this day was to be a follow up to Day 3, as an after story, but I decided to trash that idea since to be honest, the original idea wasn't so great, as it involved Ash being reminded of the M05 Latios, and him wanting to light a lantern for it after seeing Tobias' Latios.

Now, remember that last year for Day One, I wrote the 'Fishing' theme for just Ash, there was no Misty, and that was the only fic in that set where the two didn't directly interact. And I realized that I had yet to do the same for this year's set, so this one seemed like the perfect one to try that for, and so here it is!


	6. Reversed Roles

_**The Ash Influence**_

Misty Waterflower leaned her head back, deep in thought about the question that was asked of her. Memories of years ago seeped into her head as she looked toward Dawn, the perpetrator for why old memories were now flooding her conscious.

"Well?" the other girl prompted. Misty sighed.

"Ash Ketchum…" she breathed thoughtfully. "Oh, how I miss him…"

"Tell me more about him – i-if you want to, that is," said Dawn delicately. "Still," she added, "I didn't know that you traveled with Kanto's strongest Gym Leader!"

"Yeah, well, prior to that title though!" chuckled Misty lightly, smiling at the memory. "I was twelve when I first found out, how he kept that secret from me and Brock for so long is a mystery in itself to me…never knew until we got the Gym and well...I guess I can't blame him, with a legacy like that it'd be hard to be proud of a Gym that was owned by the very leader of your worst enemy…Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni, is Ash's uncle…"

Misty sighed once more, remembering when they had walked in and were greeted by Ash's mom, and remembered how shocked she and Brock were when they found out that the boy who was just a few months older than her was the nephew of a known criminal, and that the Gym's duties were unceremoniously – and rather disgracefully – dumped onto Ash's mother, and by proxy, Ash's to inherit…

Ash had been rather miffed at the time, Misty thought, but despite the boy's conflicted feelings he still gave it his all when he decided to finally give her a full battle as payback for his wrecked bike at the hands of her Togepi's Metronome. The poor kid had only just helped her out of a muddy stream, when she stole his bike and fried it up, after that Ash followed her, not a day would go by where he didn't grumble about his lost bike, and his Pikachu and Bulbasaur were just as sour towards her over it.

The day of their battle Misty dared to assume that she could've easily lost had her Seel not come through and evolved into Dewgong when it did, and was able to overcome Ash's Ivysaur, she thanked her lucky stars, though it was nothing more than a fluke, it had been lucky that Ivysaur was tired out from a previous battle with Team Rocket, and from battling her Pidgeotto.

"...In the end, he may hate what the Gym represents, but I'm glad he still gives the place his all, last I heard trainers are hesitant to even go there because the Viridian Gym doesn't have a set type, making his choices for battling unpredictable," said Misty, wistfully. "That said, he's only got a handful of Pokémon at his disposal, but his strength is still to be reckoned with."

"...And what was it like to say...goodbye…?" asked Dawn cautiously after hearing about Ash's Gym. "And the many years afterwards…?" Misty averted her gaze, her Togetic cooed sadly, knowing full well how the teenage girl had first taken the goodbye…

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _How it had happened was almost a cruel joke, thought Misty. After everything they'd been through, leagues, Team Rocket, the fall outs…all ended. Not that it was entirely unfair, Delia Ketchum did deserve a break given that she was a young woman who had given birth at nineteen, and had to deal with a Gym must've been a recipe for a stressful early adulthood. But it did still seem unfair to just announce that the woman had won a ticket to go abroad via a luxury cruise, then dumped the duties onto her son, who already hated the Gym…_

" _Well then…" said Ash, as the group reached the crossroads, one path lead to Pewter City, one to Viridian, and another to Cerulean… "I guess this is it."_

" _Yeah…" put in Brock, Misty and Ash's other traveling companion, or at the very least the longest standing one._

" _Misty," began Ash._

" _Y-yes…?" stuttered Misty, shaking herself out of the reverie she had been experiencing. The melancholy that had struck her was still settling, and looking at Ash made them worse. The thought of her having to be away from him caused mixed-feelings within her chest._

" _Don't ever stop being you," he said softly, looking her in the eyes. "You've got what it takes, kiddo. Never stop doing your best." He smiled after he finished._

 _They exchanged goodbyes, only for Brock to suddenly put in that he couldn't accompany Misty to Cerulean, as he had to go home to take care of a few things. At first Misty wanted to break down in tears, but then both came back suddenly._

" _Oh, yeah…" began Brock._

"… _seems we both forgot something," put in Ash. He then pulled out a blue handkerchief. "For you, as a way for you to remember me by, I don't know what the future will hold for either of us, but I know that we'll meet again someday. But for now, have this." It was then used to wrap a special dinner box Brock had made for her. Misty never wanted to break down more in her life._

 _Ash rode his bike away, and Brock walked from her. She ran home that evening, crying long and loud…_

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"But that's not the end of it, right?" asked Dawn, wiping away her own tears that were caused by the sad story.

"Nope," replied Misty. She blushed a little as she thought back to the day when Ash visited Hoenn. "Now there was a cool day, Dawn. You should've been there."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 _Colonel Hansen was a dastardly man, they all thought. What had started out as a simple reunion with Ash had turned into them being inserted into a Kingdom's political brawl between the Princess and the head of the militia over the finding of a Pikachu from the Mirage, or even one that evolved from a Pichu._

 _In the midst of the final battle, Colonel Hansen's Metagross was giving Misty, Brock, Brandon and his sister Becky trouble. Meanwhile, Misty watched as Ash's Pikachu suddenly learned a move called Volt Tackle, which proceeded to take care of Colonel Hansen's Metangs. Seeing what his Pokémon partner had done to protect the Mirage's Pichu, Ash suddenly felt very motivated._

" _Right, don't you worry buddy, I've got this," he muttered, as he pulled out a Pokéball, he smirked at. "I choose you!" he yelled as he threw it. What popped out came as a huge surprise for Misty._

 _What came out was a huge Dragonite, which looked down at its opponent with a fierce glare. Misty was speechless._

" _How – what – when did Ash get a Dragonite?!" exclaimed Misty._

 _Hansen was intimidated at first, but nervously laughed it off. "What now? Do you really thing a mere dragon can defeat my Metagross?"_

" _You really should consider who your opponent is," replied Ash confidently. "And anyways, I_ know _it can win against you. Dragonite, use Fire Punch!"_

 _Dragonite roared, and brought up a fist which combusted. At first Metagross was able to dodge by going to the side of Dragonite. But the dragon-type whirled its tail around and smacked it hard, sending Metagross back to the front, before Dragonite punched it hard with its flaming fist. Metagross flew, and hit the pavement hard, its eyes swirled, showing it had not energy left._

 _Misty and the others stared, shocked by Dragonite's strength. "So cool…" breathed Brendan. "You're friend really does live up to everything you said, Misty!"_

 _Misty didn't reply, she was too busy staring at Ash. The boy certainly knew how to train a Pokémon, and she couldn't help but admire him as he became the only thing she could see at the time._

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"…So cool…" said Misty.

"I bet!" squealed Dawn.

"Yeah…"

"Do you still talk to him?"

"Hm? Oh, oh of course! We still talk, albeit we haven't actually spoken or messaged each other in a while now, it's been over six months…" said Misty. The words she spoke hurt her, and she buried her face on her knees. "Sometimes I wonder if it's because he's avoiding me or something…maybe he just doesn't have the time for me anymore…"

Dawn looked over sympathetically. "It'll be all right. I'm sure he doesn't think that way at all, it's probably just the league or something that's keeping him busy. Just wait a while and you'll be back to regular chatting in no time, so no need to worry!"

Misty raised her head, her expression changed to a smile at the encouraging words. But she still couldn't resist… "Thanks, that's when I worry the most…"

"Oh come on!"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

A week later, both girls found themselves backed against a tree. They had wandered into a swamp which was the home of a cohort of Skorupi's, and unfortunately for them, they were extremely territorial. At first the girls had tried to fight back, but for every Skorupi they took down, two more took its place. Even Piplup's Whirlpool seemed ineffective against them.

Worse came when their leader, a Drapion came, which was why Misty and Dawn found themselves pressed against the tree they were on.

"Oh bother," said Misty, she was also horrified, she hated bugs, and with so many of them, she feared for her life!

Drapion raised its claws, and was about to strike when the girls saw a flash of yellow. Drapion got hit from the side, it yelled in pain. Misty and Dawn were speechless, Misty even more so when she saw what backed off of the Ogre Scorpion – a Pikachu. When the electric-type finished flinching from the recoil, he turned towards Misty and let out a happy, "Pikachupi!"

"Wait…no way," breathed Misty. "But if you're here, then where's…?"

"Hey, Mist, still afraid of bug-types as ever, huh?"

Her eyes widened, she turned to make sure she wasn't imagining things – she wasn't. There before them, was Ash Ketchum. Ash smiled, "Quite the situation to find you in," he went on. "I'll finish this for ya, don'tcha worry 'bout it." He turned towards Drapion, who was very angry – it roared and fired a Pin Missile attack.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack, now!" ordered Ash. Pikachu did so, cleverly dodging all of the missiles, hitting Drapion on the head. It clearly wasn't impressed, it reached with its pincers and took a hold of Pikachu. "Thunderbolt, go," said Ash in response. Pikachu unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning against the Ogre Scorpion.

Misty watched in awe, as did Dawn. To Misty, Pikachu's strength would always be something to gawk at, Dawn was beyond impressed. "So cool…now there's some power!" said the bluenette.

Meanwhile Pikachu finished zapping Drapion, its opponent let him go, and quickly fled from the battle, clearly shaken up from the encounter. At first, the Skorupi were outraged, but once Pikachu began to spark from his cheek pouches, they too dispersed.

"Ash!" yelled Misty, running up to him. She took the time from running from her spot towards him to take him all in. He was dressed in some nice blue jeans, and arrived with a black jacket, which had a thick yellow lining on border between the chest and stomach along with a white collar and sleeves. "What brings you here?"

Ash smiled, taking a moment to just close his eyes whilst pointing his head to the ground, hands in his pocket. He then turned towards her, "Well, at long last, I'm free of my Gym duties."

A splat was heard, both trainers turned to see a bluenette face down in the mud. "Huh?"

"I think…she may have fainted from seeing you."

 **O** o **O** o **O**

"Wait…" said Dawn, as she took a bite out of her sandwich, "what did you mean when you said you're free of your Gym duties, Ash?"

Ash smiled, and told Dawn, "Well after about four years of rest my mom finally decided it was time to reposition herself as Viridian City's Gym Leader, relieving me of the job – and so here I am."

"B-but, why?" asked Dawn. " _You're_ the strongest Gym Leader in the entire Kanto region! Surely that's something to be proud of?"

"Yeah, and I am," replied Ash, sweating a little. "But just because I am the strongest Gym Leader doesn't mean that that's my calling though." Dawn gave him a questioning look – Ash paused and considered his next words. "Basically I just find being a Gym Leader unfulfilling. It's finding a niche, but it isn't something you want to do. For example…er…Dawn, what do you want to do?"

"Be the best Pokémon Coordinator!"

"And that's a good goal to have! Now let's say you went for that goal, and then you got to be famous because of it, you even make that dream of yours a reality! But then after reaching that goal, it didn't become fun to do anymore – it instead becomes more and more of a burden each and every day. Would you want to keep doing it just for the fame?"

"Well…when you put it that way," replied Dawn thoughtfully. "Yeah…I guess that would suck if you didn't have the motivation to do what some love."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, that's how I felt. Well, I wouldn't say that being a Gym Leader sucked, but it really wasn't for me." The male sighed and went back to contentedly eating. Misty looked at her friend thoughtfully.

A little later Dawn went off to do some of her routine training. After coaching her for a bit, Misty broke away to see Ash, she found him sitting against a tree with a relaxed look on his eyes. "Hey," greeted Misty.

"Oh? Hiya," replied Ash, opening an eye for a moment before he closed it. Misty hummed, and then sat down next to him.

"So…you're here to stay, right?"

"Mmm hmm."

"That's good," said Misty. "You're mom was happy to retake the position, right?"

"Yeah, she was," replied Ash, he paused to gather his thoughts; he opened his eyes and looked toward the sky. "I'm really grateful for it too. I hated being alone at the Gym…sometimes there were days where no trainers showed up, and it was just me, Pikachu, and the rest like Bulbasaur and Ivysaur…for a while mom was away, she was good company, but y'know, I prefer to keep moving – and by being at the Gym it felt like being in a prison cell."

"I can imagine," sympathized Misty, as a kid, she had hated being stuck in her sisters' Gym's lobby, unable to escape the monotony that came with it…

"…Honestly," continued Ash, surprising Misty, "some people see being Viridian City's Gym Leader as something I don't. Felt like isolation…"

"But wasn't Marina around to…keep you company?" asked Misty, she silently berated herself for hesitating when she said that. Although she trusted Marina as a friend, she often found herself jealous of the constant visits that the aspiring water-type researcher had with her best friend – and if one twisted her arm, she'd outright say 'desire.'

"She was," replied Ash indifferently. "She came by every weekend and kept me company during the first few months. But…" he added, turning suddenly to look at her. Misty could feel a blush creeping up on her cheeks from his gaze. "…it's not quite the same without you around."

"M-me…?"

"Yeah," said Ash with a toothy smile, if Misty wasn't sure her blush was showing, she knew it was showing. "You're fun to be with – nothing could take the away spark you have."

"Y-y-yeah right, sure…" scoffed Misty, trying not to let her heart win as she turned abruptly away. "As if, I'm sure Marina was plenty of enough company."

"No, she really wasn't…" replied Ash, causing Misty to snap her eyes toward him. "I missed you during that time, idiot."

Misty gawked. "Missed me…?"

"Of course. Marina's cool and all, but as I said, she isn't you."

"Oh, I…always thought that you and her were closer than that…I mean, I…once saw a picture of the two of you working together."

"Ah well, you know my mom, she's got to document everything. What," asked Ash, "you think she and I dated?" Misty choked on her breath, if Ash noticed, he didn't say so. "She's not my type." She heaved a quiet sigh of relief.

"Well then," she said, composing herself. "I guess that's about right. After all, you are just friends. But if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gone to the places you and I visited, and your little brain would've been limited to Kanto," she said, trying to insult him.

Ash just laughed. "Yeah, you're right about that," he admitted. "And because of you, I got stuck with a dopey Slowpoke that gave me headaches to no end, only for it to evolve thanks to your Kings Rock."

"You owe me for that," pouted Misty.

"Oh please, as if _you_ would've had any use for it, not my fault he somehow found and held on to it," replied Ash, before telling her more gently, "but I do thank you for that. Slowking's amazing."

"S-sure," she stammered. "You're welcome…"

Ash smiled. "I left Slowking and the others back home, I came only with Pikachu to here. I want a fresh start, like you did. It'll be just like old times, just with Dawn of course – she's quite a peppy young lass, isn't she?"

Misty nodded, and began to tell Ash all about how she met Dawn.

 **O** o **O** o **O**

Eventually, the conversation somehow came back around to Ash. "…So…why did you come all the way out here just to be with me again? You said you wanted a fresh start. But why go back to being with me?"

Ash gave Misty a puzzled look. "Why? I thought that'd be obvious – I wanted to see you again." The orange-haired girl felt an emotion run through her. "Besides," added Ash, looking away, "there's something I wanted to…talk with you about that couldn't be done over the phone."

"In person?" asked Misty, she shuffled awkwardly. "Weird…I – er – kind of had something I need to…say to you too…" Ash looked at her, surprised, he cleared his throat.

"Well, okay. Mist…I, well…"

"Hold on!" squeaked Misty, slightly stunned from the use of her nickname. "Ladies first Ketchum!"

"What the…? But I started it."

"And I say _I_ should say it first!"

"Oh c'mon, lay off your pride!"

"No way – I've waited too long to say it to you. This is something I've wanted to say that I couldn't through a call or email. I _need_ to say it to your face."

Ash faltered. _Something she wants to say face to face? B-but I also have something that's like that…something very personal. Does she…?_ "Then g-go on…" muttered Ash.

Misty breathed, and locked eyes with Ash. "Ash, I…I love you." She found that she had no other words to say, and went silent.

Ash stared, stunned, he found he had no words to say, instead, he leaned in, and kissed her. "Same…" he whispered. "You and your damn charm made me do that."

"Damn yourself," said Misty, blushing profusely, unable to avert her eyes as a hand of hers connected itself to one of Ash's. "You're too damn charming yourself…"

 **O** o **O** o **O**

 **Author's Notes:** And with that, I think I'm calling it quit on Pokeshipping Week 2018 folks. I did intend to do all of the themes, but honestly with the amount of time these take, and with school finals around the corner, in addition to me wanting to dedicate my time writing towards other projects along with ones for other fandoms – I just don't think I have it in me for the last day, yet. I will consider Day Seven if and when time allows. Hope you enjoyed guys till then!


End file.
